Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Report 59

May 2021 was one of the slowest Yamato months in years, seemingly caught up in the malaise of uncertainty over when the Wave-Motion Engine would restart. That moment arrived June 1 when it was announced that Age of Yamato would open as planned. But up until then, the holding pattern kept the plane on the ground. Here’s what we got while we waited…

May 1: Cartoon Barroom podcast

Cartoon Barroom is a podcast by and about folks in the US animation industry, hosted by writers Ashley E. Miller and Steven Melching – who also happen to be MAJOR Star Blazers/Yamato fans. They called upon a fellow superfan, Director Robert Meyer Burnett, and Cosmo DNA Editor Tim Eldred to open the vault on decades of knowledge and experience. The conversation went on so long that it was broken into two episodes totaling 2.5 hours, perfect listening for a long afternoon.

Listen to Part 1 here and Part 2 here.


Photos posted on Twitter by pipipi1014

May 5: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, Vol. 119

The month began with Andromeda‘s forward deck, which added the bow hump and extended the structure backward. The photo above right shows the entirety of the model so far.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See an unboxing video here

See a modeler’s blog here

May 8: Age of Yamato advance tickets

The one upside to continued delays for Age of Yamato is that it gave the production committee more time to drum up advance ticket sales. They launched a third campaign on May 8 with incentive items to capture even the fans who already took the leap.

This time the bonus package consisted a “MoviTick” card (a voucher to be redeemed at theaters) and a pack of production art from Yamato 2205 (pictured above). Photos posted on Twitter by sumikojo.

May 10: Kusolab article

For years, a certain sector of SF fandom has occupied itself with puzzling out real-world explanations for what we see on our screens. Unsurprisingly, Yamato has been dissected many times over in various books and articles published by the “Fantasy Science Laboratory,” also known as “Kusolab.”

The description on their website reads as follows:

The Institute of Fantastic Science examines scenes and episodes in manga, anime, games, and old stories. So far, we have dealt with more than 1,000 subjects. The “Fantasy Science Selection” publishes the most popular manuscripts. You can read it for free for 2 days after delivery.

On May 10, an article appeared with the following headline:

Is Space Battleship Yamato‘s Journey
to the Planet Iscandar and Back in One Year Feasible?

Interested in reading it? Click here and dig in.


Photos posted on Twitter by Aznable_iysk

May 12: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, Vol. 120

Eyeballs got bigger when builders picked up this volume and saw the first shock cannon inside. There weren’t enough parts to take it through to completion, but there was already some substantial fiber optics work involved in prepping this one for an audience.


Photo posted on Twitter by nayucha2020

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See an unboxing video here

See a modeler’s blog here

May 13: Model kits announced

Good news for those who have been asking (in exasperated voices) when we’ll get some new model kits; Bandai heard us! On deck for release later this year are the first three models deriving from Yamato 2205.

It starts with a true fan favorite, the reboot version of the EDF carrier from 1978, this time in 1/1000 scale and named Asuka. Accompanying this will be two elements of Dessler’s fleet in Mecha Collection size: his red battle carrier with option parts, and a green version of the Schderg tri-deck carrier from Yamato 2199.

See them on Bandai-hobby.net here

More photos can be seen on Dengeki Hobby Web here

May 13: Oldtaku no Radio podcast

What, you thought 2.5 hours of Yamato talk was enough for one month? I’ll tell YOU when you’ve had enough. Ye editor was joined by longtime friend Dave Merrill for almost two MORE hours of chatter about Yamato 2199 on the Oldtaku no Radio podcast, which was later described by a listener as a “galaxy brain” level conversation.

Click here to listen.

May 14: Star Blazers Lambda Chapter 13

The Space Battleship Yamato Next manga hit its first annivesary with a heavy-duty cannon blast. In this double-length white-knuckle ride, the NerfThis fleet is ambushed by an asteroid attack that disrupts their strategy and creates a storm of chaos above Jupiter. As one ship after another is damaged, the specter of a long fall into its atmosphere fills the Topness pilots with dread…and then that fall begins.

See the chapter here.

Read a complete year-1 retrospective with a lot of bonus material here.


Photos posted on Twitter by pipipi1014

May 14: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick
Model, Vol. 121

The rest of the shock cannon parts arrived in this volume, allowing the barrels to be seated in the turret and the entire structure to settle into the forward deck. A quick reminder that we are now ten volumes into what Hachette announced would be a 60-volume project. So, just under a year to completion if that estimate holds.

This was the week that subscribers received the first pair of binders from Hachette, which are meant to contain the weekly instruction manuals/magazines that come with the parts. As examined elsewhere on Cosmo DNA, they are pretty much useless in that regard.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See an unboxing video here

See a modeler’s blog here


May 25: Star Blazers/Yamato fan club magazine Vol. 11

Here’s a rundown of this issue’s content, as provided by friend-of-the-website Minoru Itgaki:

• The main article is a popularity poll of battleships by club members. Along with that is the Yamato cover by animator Kia Asamiya. It’s not the design of Yamato 2205, but his original version, a combination of 2199 and 2202.

• There are very few articles on Yamato 2205 because the release date of Age of Yamato was still postponed at the time.

• There is a report on the solo exhibition of Kia Asamiya, an article on Hachette’s 1/350 Andromeda, and an article on the Garmillas-made L’Androméde class that cameoed in Yamato 2202. Read that article here.

• The Reimei Arc project, the missing link between Final Yamato and Resurrection, is about to begin. Aquarius Algorithm was the first part of the project, and will be published as a novel.

• There is a column by Producer Shoji Nishizaki about the live-action Star Blazers, and in interview with Akira Miyagawa, who is planning to conduct a Yamato concert (read it here).

• Finally, the full text of The Heart of Observer No. 9 from Yamato 2199 Episode 9: A Clockwork Prisoner.

May 26: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, Vol. 122

Hachette’s last volume for the month was either nothing flashy or something VERY flashy, depending on your word usage; builders assembled an internal LED unit to supply lighting to the bow of the ship. Kind of a blah ending to a blah month, but it helps us to better appreciate the exciting things to come.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See an unboxing video here

See a modeler’s blog here


Also spotted in May

Fan art

You know what? I take that back. It wasn’t a blah month at all. It was a FANTASTIC month when you factor in the enormous amount of fan art that appeared online.

See a character gallery here and a mecha gallery here.

Fan models

In fact, I’ll go one better: it was one of the BEST MONTHS EVER when you consider the gigantic volume of model kits that emerged from the Time Fault of Yamato fandom on Japan.

See the latest works in these galleries: Yamato and Andromeda | UNCF and EDF ships | Garmillas and others


Photo posted on Twitter by gigagiga100000

Lonely vigil

If you’ve been reading this website for a while, you know that the Shinjuku Piccadilly theater in Tokyo is pretty much the epicenter of Yamato movie openings. It’s always on the agenda in a Yamatour, and it’s where you can consistently find the best theater displays.


Photo posted on Twitter by Kengo-Low

The springtime surge of Coronavirus kept the Piccadilly closed and dark for the entire month of May, but as fans awaited the arrival of both Age of Yamato and Hathaway’s Flash (the latest Gundam movie), the giant 3-meter Andromeda kept up its lonely vigil in the lobby. It wouldn’t be much longer before it came to life again.

Vintage giants

On the topic of oversize models, Twitter user Jumpei Mitsui shared this one of himself and a picture-perfect Lego Yamato he built when he was 15. Let’s just pretend it’s in a museum now, because the alternative would be heartbreaking.

Then there was this amazing photo posted by launchpad_9 of a two-person Yamato costume. It was accompanied by the following caption: “A high school festival about 40 years ago. It was made by a friend and I when we heard there would be a costume parade.”

Cosplay

Pandemics and cosplay don’t go together very well, which explains why we haven’t seen much of it over the past year. However…

Prolific cosplayer Hime37Olive effortlessly took the prize in May for her portrayal of Akira Yamamoto. Her caption: “I tend to play supporting roles and I love pilots, so Akira-chan was obvious. However, I would be embarrassed to be called a Yamato crewmember by those who create Yamato.”

Statues on parade

Finally, it’s always nice to see these beauties again, the statuary on the Leiji Matsumoto Symbol Road in the port town of Tsuruga, Japan.

Originally erected in 1999, they were hauled into the shop for reconditioning in 2020, and now they sparkle again. Photos posted on Twitter by Oushi.


Continue to Report 60 and the premiere of Age of Yamato

6 thoughts on “Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Report 59

  1. “Igniting a War between the Bolar Federation, the mysterious Black Fleet, and Dessler’s forces.”
    If true this sounds even better than before. The Black Nebula empire and the Bolar federation would really make this seem truly interstellar.

    I’m also assuming Next month will be Report 1 of 2205 with the release of Age of Yamato and the first proper trailer of 2205. Can’t wait.

    • I’m not sure when the report transition will happen. Some time between now and October, the balance will shift.

  2. Yay, REAL EDF (uh, UNCF, sorry) carriers! Very fitting that they named one Hyuga, which was the genesis of this design in WWII IJN, along with its sister ship Ise. Yeah, the back ends are a little “thick” compared to the originals but it’s fine and a great improvement over the head-wing carriers in 2202. Hoping they bring back the old-style EDF comet-era (“Gearing”) destroyer as well. As we all know, the problem with 2202 wasn’t exploding space zombies (go figure), but hideous, untenable carrier mecha designs.

    Very much looking forward to 2205 and how they rework Jason Jetter (uhm, Rysuke Domon, sorry). Hoping for a reboot of the Kodai/Domon throwdown on the deck. To be honest, that’s the only part that I really remember from SB Season III.

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